Reading fluency through readers theate=
r.
Vera de la Torre Ana Jazmina.
|
DOI: https://doi.org/10.33262/cienciadigital.v2i2.116<= /span> |
English is the language of modern science and technology. Most of the
information published on the Internet is written in English; that is the re=
ason
why all competent professionals must learn this language starting in primary
school to be able to read updated information. Accuracy, prosody and automa=
tism
are basic elements of the reading skill. These elements are not considered
regularly in Ecuadorian classrooms. In this context, the aim of this
investigation was to determine the correlation of the Reader´s Theatre
strategy and the development of reading fluency. The target group of this
investigation were children between 10 and 12 years old. This study was bas=
ed
on qualitative and quantitative methodology by means of field and
quasi-experimental research. An experimental stage in which Readers Theatre
was applied through the use of librettos and assessment rubrics were used w=
ith
82 students in a public primary school. A pre and post-reading test were gi=
ven
to the students to measure the effectiveness of the strategy. The findings
showed that the use of the Readers Theatre improves reading fluency.
Keywords: Economy,
Financial System, Cooperatives, Stability, Government
=
R=
esumen.
profesional
competente se debe aprender inglés desde los niveles iniciales de formación
para desarrollar destrezas que permitan acceder a información actualizada. =
Con
respecto a la destreza lectora, la exactitud, prosodia y el utomatismo son elementos básicos que se consideran regularmente en las aulas
ecuatorianas. En este contexto, el objetivo de la presente investigación fue
determinar la correlación de la estrategia del Reader=
s
Theatre en el desarrollo de la fluidez lectora=
. La
población investigada fue un grupo de nińos entre 10 y 12 ańos de edad con
quienes se aplicó una metodología basada en el enfoque cuantitativo y
cualitativo con la utilización de trabajo de campo y un diseńo cuasi
experimental. En la fase de experimento, se empleó la estrategia del Readers Theatre mediant=
e el uso
de libretos y rúbricas aplicadas a 82 estudiantes de una institución primar=
ia
pública. Para la medición de la efectividad de la estrategia se utilizó un =
pre
test y un post test. Los resultados demuestran que la estrategia del Readers Theatre mejora =
la
fluidez lectora.
Palabras Clave
Introducción.
Nowaday=
s,
English is used in several fields all around the world. Business, internati=
onal
information, science, engineering and technology are some areas where Engli=
sh
is utilized (Private-NEWS, 2015) [1].
Furthermore, according to the website Internet World Stats,
Even th= ough, the importance of English has spread around the world, there are many professionals who are not able to use it in a proficient way. For this reas= on, it is necessary to reinforce the English teaching methodologies starting at primary school. According to Educa= tion First (2016) [3], Ecuador has a low level of English language proficiency compared to other Latin American countries due to the lack of possibilities= to use the language in a real environment. The Ministry of Education has incre= ased the number of teaching hours and hired a higher number of educators to impr= ove the English language communicative competence in all of the public education institutions. (Ministerio de Educación, 2014) [4]. However, the students' low English language proficiency is the result of the use of traditional teaching methodologies such as a teacher-<= span class=3DSpellE>centered approach, lack of student interaction in the classroom and teachers' confusion when applying communicative strategies. <= o:p>
Regardi=
ng
reading habits in Ecuador, 27% of people do not read at all, while people w=
ho
read do it for only one or two hours per day. Furthermore, 28% survey
respondents do not read for pleasure, but to complete mandatory academic
assignments (INEC, 2012) [5]. For this reason, the teaching of reading is
extremely important since it enables individuals to seek and receive
information from all areas. Besides that, through reading, other language
skills are well founded in aspects of vocabulary, syntax, or writing (Nuńez, Gonzalez, & Gonzalez, 2012) [6].
On the other hand, fluent readi=
ng is
more than reading with great speed. Reading in a natural way involves the u=
se
of prosody, accuracy and appropriate decoding. Additionally, it is necessar=
y to
consider good pronunciation, accent, pitch, gesticulation, corporal movemen=
ts,
phrasing, word recognition, intonation, rhythm and attention to punctuation
marks (Rasinski,2004) [7]. When ap=
plying
all the previously described elements, the message of the text is smoothly
comprehended. According to Barrios (2015) [8], educators use teaching
strategies which are not suitable to the students level or interests.
In order to improve reading fluency, the
"Reader's Theater" (RT) strategy was applied to verify its impact=
in
the development of the reading skills of children aged 10, 11 and 12-year-o=
ld.
After using this strategy, children made several comments regarding the
positive effects of the strategy in their reading skills. The results of the
study show that EFL students do have positive experiences in using RT for t=
he
improvement of reading fluency.
ˇ =
It was clearly n=
oticed
that Reader´s Theater made reading an entertaining activity for children
while developing their reading fluency. Mckay (=
2008)
[9] agrees that RT strategy increases reading comprehension, students' inte=
rest
in literature, and commitment for reading. Buzzeo
(2011) [10] & Vogan (2013) [11] state that =
RT is
a reading activity that has an authentic communicative objective since lear=
ners
speak, read and listen. Fluency is a key aspect to develop successful reade=
rs.
It is important to implement RT in EFL classrooms since positive experiences
have been reported after using RT when developing communication skills (Patrick, 2008) [12]. Lekwilai (2=
014),
[13] on the other hand, established that RT is a teaching method that impro=
ves
the development of reading fluency in people`s first language (L1), foreign
language or second language. Similarly, he asserted that fluidity is the ke=
y to
the formation of successful and competent readers. Furthermore, RT enhances cooperative work in an enjoyable manner (Tso=
u,
2011). [14]
Literature review.
=
A. Reader´s Theater=
Readers theater (RT), is considered both, a strat=
egy
of oral, guided, and repetitive reading; and a method of teaching reading. =
Haughey (2015) [15] states that "it is an oral
presentation of drama, prose, and poetry by two or more readers who first r=
ead
and become familiar with the text presented in a libretto that includes sev=
eral
characters" (p.3). RT needs t=
o be
dramatic and well prepared to convey a message to an audience. In a study d=
one
by Liu and Hu (2015) [16], this strategy helped to promote oral reading
fluency, depending on the level of proficiency students may have.
Procedure.
Basically "Reader´s
Theater" meets the following process (Hsu, 2011) [17]:
a.&n=
bsp;
Libretto. The librettos are the m=
ost
significant resources. They can be adapted or created.
b.&n=
bsp;
Supporting activities. The teacher
should discuss the content of the text with the whole class. In addition, t=
he
teacher can get lexicon and present it in flashcards. The teacher should
explain what RT is and which their purposes are.
c.&n=
bsp;
Educational model. The teachers
guide is vital so that the students listen to the pronunciation of the word=
s.
It is suggested to repeat the text as many times as it is necessary for bet=
ter
retention and understanding.
d.&n=
bsp;
Role assignments. Students can ch=
oose
the characters by themselves or the teacher can assign the roles in order to
have an organized environment.
e.&n=
bsp;
Practice. Students rehearse their
libretto repeatedly in their teams. The teacher can give them advice and
continuously check their rehearsal.
f.&n=
bsp;
Performance. Students go on stage
with their librettos and perform in front of an audience.
g.&n=
bsp;
Discussion. After the performance,
the teacher and the students reflect on their performance and provide feedb=
ack
to correct errors for an upcoming new performance.
h.&n=
bsp;
Extra activities. Student do exercises to
create librettos by themselves to give them the opportunity to practice the=
ir
writing skill.
Figure
No. 1. Process.
=
=
=
Evoked by: Research
Group.
A. Reading fluency
Fluency is usua=
lly
compared with the reading speed and the number of words read per minute
(Calero, 2014) [18]. In fact, Readers Theatre can have an enormous impact on
students' reading fluency (Young & Rasinski, 2017) [19].The quantity of
words read per minute, makes the reader to be considered more fluid. But, i=
t is
also important for the reader to be able to understand the message of the t=
ext.
Fluency involves reading naturally, confidently, and completely to understa=
nd
what is read. Cotter (2012) [20] cites Kuhn, Schwanenflugel and Meisinger
(2010) who claim that "fluency combines accuracy, authomacity, and pro=
sody
which help the reader to the construction of meaning" (p.11). Furtherm=
ore,
important improvement has been reported in prosodic elements which include
expression, volume, phrasing, pacing, and smoothness (Clark, Morrison &
Wilcox, 2009) [21]
=
B. Elements.
Reading
fluency has three essential elements which are developed together in order =
to promote reading comprehension:
(Ashley, 2016) [22].
(a) Accuracy. Correct pronunciation.<=
span
lang=3DEN-US style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times =
New Roman",serif;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>
(b) Automation or decoding.
Recognition of words, speed, conversion of graphemes to morphemes.
(c) Prosody. Expressive rea= ding, phrasing, intonation, volume, pauses, accent, gestures and body movements.<= o:p>
Method.
This study was carried out duri=
ng a
period of 5 months and aimed at gathering information on an educational pub=
lic
institution located in a rural area of the province of Tungurahua, Ecuador.=
The
investigation had a qualitative and quantitative approach. In addition, the
study involved bibliographic and quasi experimental research. Chi-square and
T-test were used to verify the hypotheses and establish if significant
differences were achieved during the pre and post-test.
Eighty-t=
wo
(82) students of 6th, 7th and 8th year of basic education whose ages ranged
from 10 to 12 years old participated in the study. They responded a survey =
and
participated in an experimental stage in which the Reader's Theater strategy
was applied. The pre-test was given to the total children population. Based=
on
the pretest results, thirty students who obtained the lowest reading fluency
levels were chosen for the experimental stage.
Ten students from each level were considered for the experimental st=
age.
=
B. Instruments.
ˇ
Survey. Most of =
the
information was collected through a survey supplied to 82 students. The sur=
vey
had 14 questions which were validated by a team of expert teachers. The sur=
vey
validation considered some aspects such as clarity, internal coherence,
induction of the response, and appropriate language.
ˇ&nb=
sp;
Rubric.
A rubric was applied to assess the reading fluency of the pre and posttests=
in
the experimental stage. The "Six dimension fluency rubric" develo=
ped
by Pinnell y Fountans (2010) [23] included 6 ma=
in
points: pausing, phrasing, stress, intonation, rate, integration, and guidi=
ng
principles with a rating score from 0 to 3 for every aspect.
ˇ =
Librettos: Five librettos were used. The first Fi=
re,
fire was applied for the pre-test. The
following four librettos named "Grizzly", Gooseberry Jam", "The lion and the
mouse" and "The very hungry caterpillar" were applied like
weekly practice. The "Fire, fire" libretto was used for the post-
test. (Readers Theatre librettos, s.f) [24].
ˇ =
Stage 1. Pre-test. 82 students were first evaluated throu=
gh
the use of the libretto "Fire, fire". The results showed that onl=
y 30
students, from the whole sample, reached the lowest reading skill level.
Therefore, it was decided to work with them in the two further stages.
ˇ =
Stage 2. Rehearsal. The 30 students, in groups of 3, 4 an=
d 5
people, rehearsed the libretto on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays two hours=
per
day. A new libretto, a word card, =
and
the reading fluency components using the "Reader's Theater" strat=
egy
was introduced every Monday. On Wednesdays, the students together with the
teacher, rehearsed the libretto which was based on guided, repetitive and
shared reading aloud activities. The librettos were not memorized, but rehe=
arsed
continuously until students obtained good reading fluency. On Fridays, a fi=
nal
rehearsal was carried out for about an hour. At the end of the rehearsal, e=
very
group presented their role-play based on the librettos.
ˇ =
Stage 3. Post-test. Students formed groups of 4. The stud=
ents
rehearsed their final libretto based on "Fire, fire" for an hour.
Afterwards, they were assessed individually with a fluent reading rubric.
=
Results.
Chi square statistic analysis was applied with the d=
ata obtained.
This method was used to verify the relationship between the two variables. 4
out of 14 questions were chosen, 2 from each variable. This information hel=
ped
to build the bases of calculations of both, the observed frequencies and the
expected frequencies.
Question 3. Does your teacher make
questions or ask you to make graphic organizers when you read?
Question 4. Does your teacher off=
er
you maximum support to make you read properly?
Question 7. Does your teacher give
you reading texts to make you develop speed, correct pronunciation, intonat=
ion,
accent, body language, and facial expressions to promote reading fluency?
Question 8. How often does your
teacher use different modes of reading, such as repetitive reading and chor=
al
reading, during an activity of reading fluency?
Table
I. Results of t=
he
survey.
|
Option=
|
OF |
EF |
Values |
|
Always |
16 |
14,75 |
0,1059322 |
|
28 |
14,75 |
11,9025424 |
|
|
14 |
14,75 |
0,03813559 |
|
|
1 |
14,75 |
12,8177966 |
|
|
Sometimes |
26 |
22,75 |
0,46428571 |
|
52 |
22,75 |
37,6071429 |
|
|
12 |
22,75 |
18,9258242 |
|
|
1 |
22,75 |
20,793956 |
|
|
Never |
40 |
44,5 |
0,45505618 |
|
2 |
44,5 |
40,5898876 |
|
|
56 |
44,5 |
2,97191011 |
|
|
80 |
44,5 |
28,3202247 |
|
|
Total sum calculated
X2 |
174,992694 |
Evok=
ed by: Research Group.
Figure 2. Results of the su=
rvey.
Evoked
by: Research Grou=
p.
Interpretation. Regarding question 3, the educators
expressed that they rarely apply reading strategies to learners, who, at the
same time, become not very competent readers. In question 4, the participan=
ts
state that guided reading is not practiced enough; which causes confusion in
all the stages of reading practice.
This modality should be used with more frequency in
the classroom. In question 7, it is notorious that the development of fluent
elements is inadequate.
As a result, reading fluency and reading comprehen=
sion
dont have a good impact in the students reading development. In relation =
to
question 8, it is obvious that the English teacher has never applied differ=
ent
modalities of reading, such as repetitive, choral, aloud and shared; which =
are
beneficial in the correct fluency =
development.For
the verification of the data of the experiment, the T test was used to cont=
rast
the results obtained of the 30 participants involved in the pre and the post
tests. This information has been separated by levels.
Table II. Experimentati=
on results .
|
# Sts. |
6th |
7th |
8th |
|||
|
pre |
post |
pre |
post |
pre |
post |
|
|
1 |
3,81 |
8,1 |
6,7 |
9,1 |
3,81 |
8,1 |
|
2 |
5,23 |
8,6 |
5,7 |
8,6 |
6,7 |
7,6 |
|
3 |
3,81 |
8,1 |
5,7 |
9,1 |
5,7 |
9,1 |
|
4 |
3,81 |
9,1 |
5,23 |
8,6 |
5,23 |
8,1 |
|
5 |
3,81 |
8,6 |
4,3 |
8,1 |
5,23 |
7,6 |
|
6 |
4,76 |
8,6 |
6,2 |
8,1 |
3,3 |
8,6 |
|
7 |
5,23 |
8,6 |
6,2 |
8,6 |
3,3 |
9,1 |
|
8 |
4,76 |
8,1 |
5,7 |
8,6 |
6,7 |
7,6 |
|
9 |
3,81 |
9,1 |
5,2 |
8,6 |
6,7 |
8,6 |
|
10 |
3,81 |
8,1 |
3,81 |
8,1 |
5,23 |
8,1 |
|
T VALUE |
1,205e-0=
8 |
1,379e-0=
7 |
0000136<= o:p> |
Evoked
by: Research Grou=
p.
Figure 3.
Evoked
by: Research Grou=
p.
Interpretation. T test worked with a level of
reliability of 0.05. Then, when compared the scores of the students from 6<=
sup>th,
7th and 8th years in relation to the pre and post-tes=
ts,
it was obtained values of 1, 205e-08, 1, 379e-07 and 0000136. It means ther=
e is
a significant difference between the results of the pre and the post tests.
Therefore, the students had a broad progress in reading fluency.
Conclusions.
ˇ
Ultimately, this research has hel=
ped
to determine the existing correlation between the Readers Theater strategy
and the reading fluency of the English language through the statistical
calculation Chi square and T test. Despite the benefits of such a reading
strategy, in the formation of expressive readers, who are successful in
recognizing words and in pronunciation; it is unfortunate to see that such a
reading tool is not applied during the English reading instruction; and tha=
t teachers,
as well as students do not know about it.
ˇ
The main components that enclose =
the
reading fluency were highly developed by the 30 children involved in this
study. Previous studies establish decoding, prosody, and precision as param=
ount
aspects to make them fluent readers. Today, these elements are developed and
recognized while the students read. As a result, readers understand the con=
tent
of the text.
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=
=
Para citar el
artículo indexado.
Vera A., Chimbo E., Suárez W., Masabanda V. (=
2018).
Reading fluency through readers theater. Revista
electrónica Ciencia Digital 2(2), 511-523. Recuperado desd=
e: http://cienciadigital.org/revistacienciadigita=
l2/index.php/CienciaDigital/article/view/116/107
El
artículo que se publica es de exclusiva responsabilidad de los autores y no
necesariamente reflejan el pensamiento de la Revista Ciencia Digital.
El
articulo queda en propiedad de la revista y, por tanto, su publicación parc=
ial
y/o total en otro medio tiene que ser autorizado por el director de la Revista Ciencia Digital.
[1]=
Universidad Técnica de Ambato, Departamento de Idiomas, Ecuador, ana=
.torres@uta.edu.ec
[2]=
Universidad Técnica de Ambato, Departamento de Idiomas, Ecuador, e.c=
himbo@uta.edu.ec
[3]=
Universidad Técnica de Ambato, Departamento de Idiomas, Ecuador, w.s=
uarez@uta.edu.ec
[4]=
Universidad Técnica de Ambato, Departamento de Idiomas, Ecuador, ve.=
mazabanda@uta.edu.ec
Vol. 2, N°2, p. 511-523,
Abril - Junio, 2018